The outdoors isn’t “home” to cats, contrary to the claims of trap-neuter-release proponents who decry humane euthanasia at shelters and instead, irrationally prefer to abandon cats to die slowly on the street.

Homeless cats are genetically identical to the cats who share our homes: They are not super-felines who can withstand the dangers they face outdoors, including extreme temperatures, speeding cars, parasites, attacks by predators (including cruel humans) and deadly contagious diseases like rabies, which a homeless cat recently contracted in West Ocean City.

Life on the street is so dangerous, the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is just 2-5 years, compared to 12-15 years on average for a cat who lives indoors.

In fact, it is this illegal abandonment of cats that should be under a microscope, not open-admission shelter policies that ensure unwanted animals are not exposed to neglect and abuse outdoors.

Euthanasia isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a cat — we have files bursting with photos of abandoned cats suffering from gruesome injuries (unsuitable for publication in a family newspaper) that prove it.

Teresa Chagrin

Norfolk

Chagrin is an animal care and control specialist with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA. – Editor